Discovery Journeys to Rwanda feature the most adventurous Rwanda Tours you can be part. Rwanda is among the best wildlife safari destinations in East Africa and Discovery Journeys there are rewarding.
Just like any other East African country, Rwanda has come a long way in terms of wildlife conservation. Its wildlife was greatly affected by poaching and civil war in the 1980s and early 1990s. In Akagera National Park some wildlife species had gone extinct.
Over the years the government of Rwanda in partnership with Africa Parks have done a tremendous job and now the park fully restored. There are several experiences one can enjoy on Discovery Journeys to Rwanda and they include the following.
Birding Discovery Journeys
Rwanda is a great birding safari destination with over 750 bird species. These are evenly distributed in the different ecosystems the country has. Rwanda birding safari destinations include Akagera National Park that is also East and Central Africa’s largest protected wetland. The park is Rwanda’s second most Important Birding Area with about 480 bird species 100 of which are endemic.
Akagera has a diverse ecosystem with wetland and savanna vegetation thereby supporting a vibrant bird life. Some of the birds you can see on a birding safari to Akagera include the African Fish eagle, grey crowned cranes, Lesser Jacana among others. The rare shoebill stork is also present in Akagera and birding safaris here are truly remarkable.
Rwanda has a mountainous landscape from which it was named the land of a thousand hills. Among the great mountains in Rwanda include the Virunga massif in the north western part. Southwestern Rwanda is also hilly with several mountains covered with a tropical rainforest (Nyungwe Forest).
Nyungwe forest is located in the western arm of the Albertine Rift Valley and it is Rwanda’s most important birding area. The park is home to over 350 bird species 29 of which endemic to the Albertine Rift. Notable bird species you can spot here include the great blue Turaco, Rwenzori Turaco, Regal sunbird, and the Rwenzori Night Jar. Birding Discovery Journeys to Rwanda are rewarding and highly recommended for any one visiting the country.
Gorilla Trekking Safari Journeys
Mountain gorillas are among man’s closest primates with a 95% DNA similarity. They are among the two surviving species of eastern gorillas along with their counterpart eastern lowland gorillas. Mountain gorillas live in the forested mountains of the Virunga massif, the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and adjacent Sarambwe reserve.
Rwanda shares the Virunga massif with Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. The massif has 8 Volcanoes 5 of which are in Rwanda laying along the border with Uganda and DRC. They include Mount Karisimbi and Mount Bisoke on the Rwanda DRC border, Mount Sabyinyo on the Rwanda, Uganda and DRC border, Mount Muhabura and Mount Gahinga on the Rwanda Uganda Border. It is in these forested mountains where you find mountain gorillas.
The Virunga mountains have 3 mountain gorilla national parks. They include Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Virunga and Mgahinga Gorilla Park in DRC and Uganda respectively. Mountains are endangered primates with their total population is estimated at 1063 individuals. The mountain gorilla population in the Virunga massif is estimated at around 600 with the highest population living in Volcanoes National Park.
Rwanda Gorilla Trekking
Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park has 20 gorilla families 12 of which are fully habituated and open for tourism visitation. Each mountain gorilla family has individuals ranging from 5 to 20 or more and is strictly tracked by 8 tourists a day.
Gorilla trekking adventures are life changing as you get to meet one of the most rare primates. An encounter with mountain gorillas gives you a glimpse of their life and opportunity to see other wildlife species.
Join our Mountain gorilla trekking Discovery Journeys and hike through the Virunga Mountains to meet these rare species. You can do a 1 day excursion or more depending on your time and preferences. Our 3-day Rwanda Tour features mountain gorillas and golden monkey trekking. The 5-day Rwanda Tour is longer to include a visit to Nyungwe Forest for chimpanzee trekking. These are a must do a visit Rwanda safari.
Big Five Classic Safari
Akagera National Park is the only savanna wildlife ecosystem where you can have classic wildlife safaris in Rwanda. The Park is the largest wetland in East and Central Africa. It has a diverse ecosystem to also include savanna grassland and woodlands.
Akagera is home to savanna’s the big five mammals that are buffaloes, elephants, lions, rhinos and leopards. These are often seen on game drives along the different trails in the park. Other notable wildlife in Akagera include giraffes, zebras, topi’s, elands, waterbucks and many others.
Safaris in Akagera National Park can be done on exclusive visits to the park or alongside other national parks in Rwanda. These safari adventures feature primate expeditions to Nyungwe and Volcanoes National Park. To fully explore all these destinations you need at least 10 days spending 2 nights or more at every destination. Our 10-day Rwanda safari caters for that and is the ultimate Rwanda safari tour. This can be further customized to add other Rwanda safari experiences.
This time up to May is still a great time for a safari in Rwanda. Migratory birds set in until May making Rwanda safari tours more enjoyable.
Where to Stay
There are several accommodation facilities where you can base from when exploring destination Rwanda. They range from budget to high end luxury options but have to be booked in advance since Rwanda is a busy safari destination.
Notable lodges in Volcanoes National Park include Bisate Lodge, Da Vinci Lodge, Five Volcanoes, and Sabyinyo Silverback. Akagera National Park has a few options including Magashi Camp, Akagera Game Lodge and Ruzizi Tented Lodge.
Nyungwe Forest has one high-end safari Lodge; Nyungwe Oneandonly House. Deluxe options include Nyungwe Top View Hotel, Emeraude Kivu Resort and Marina Mantis Bay.
Ensure to book your Discovery Journeys to Rwanda in advance for the ultimate safari experience.
English
Afrikaans
Albanian
Amharic
Arabic
Armenian
Azerbaijani
Basque
Belarusian
Bengali
Bosnian
Bulgarian
Catalan
Cebuano
Chichewa
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Corsican
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Esperanto
Estonian
Filipino
Finnish
French
Frisian
Galician
Georgian
German
Greek
Gujarati
Haitian Creole
Hausa
Hawaiian
Hebrew
Hindi
Hmong
Hungarian
Icelandic
Igbo
Indonesian
Irish
Italian
Japanese
Javanese
Kannada
Kazakh
Khmer
Korean
Kurdish (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz
Lao
Latin
Latvian
Lithuanian
Luxembourgish
Macedonian
Malagasy
Malay
Malayalam
Maltese
Maori
Marathi
Mongolian
Myanmar (Burmese)
Nepali
Norwegian
Pashto
Persian
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Romanian
Russian
Samoan
Scottish Gaelic
Serbian
Sesotho
Shona
Sindhi
Sinhala
Slovak
Slovenian
Somali
Spanish
Sudanese
Swahili
Swedish
Tajik
Tamil
Telugu
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Urdu
Uzbek
Vietnamese
Welsh
Xhosa
Yiddish
Yoruba
Zulu